Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Click here to work through the IWSG linky list.On Monday, I mentioned how I was working to defeat my fears. One such fear is one I've been hesitant to acknowledge. I've been fearing the end.Writing as Rayven Godchild, I had no issues with penning those spicy tales filled with scintilating sexy details and erotica. Reaching the end with those shorts didn't have me in an odd place. But the idea of writing, publishing and releasing the last story of my Shadow Jumpers series has had me on a mission of misdirection.Each month I tell myself to start on the manuscript to bring this series to a close. Each month I find myself stealing away into a story, busying myself with G. R. R. Martin's fantasy world wishing he'd bring back my Ned Stark or perhaps make Jon Snow love me (Hey, a girl can dream lol!!). Each month, the final story of Shadow Jumpers sits upon the tips of my fingers, waiting to be typed out. The words are there so I can't blame writer's block. Procrastination has been the easy scapegoat. Yet it's the fear of seeing this series close that hinders me. Along with this fear comes a doubt so fierce and massive it has its own area code. The combination of fear and doubt have left me with just enough ability to work through edits, begin formatting for a story re-release and occupy my mind with critiques of other authors' works.So I bring this fear and doubt to bear, acknowledge them so I remove a tiny bit of power. Each day, I'll work through these feelings so I can use them as steppings stones instead of burdens.Each day, I'll remind myself that the end of this series isn't the end of my writing.Each day, I'll start anew.

aww sweetie! i look at these endings as celebrations of completion! and i look forward to writing the next ones waiting! but i also am in the throes of GOT, believe me, i'll be very happy when i finish reading that series! way too gut-wrenching!! ha!

The weird things about writing a series is that you get to the end and there's more. Look at this last book as an adventure, while you have the storyline fixed in your mind, you never know where the story will take you.

I've been feeling the same way about the Eighth Day series. What happens when I reach the end and have to say good-bye to those characters? Will I ever have another group of characters I love as much as I love these guys?

Luckily (?) the circumstances of this deal might see me through the end without me knowing it. Because it is a 3-book deal with an option for 2 more, I don't know exactly when the end will come. When Book 3 is finally revised and accepted by my editor, I have to wait a couple more months before I'm allowed to pitch Book 4 to them.

What if they say no? Then I will have already written the end without knowing it. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I think, all in all, I'd rather cry buckets over finishing Book 5 then pass the end and not know it.

I think one thing that pushes me forward is the excitement of knowing I'll get to create something new--and maybe even better--once I'm finished. We've all got so many stories to tell! This one will eventually come, and it'll be bittersweet finishing out the series. But you'll have grown so much and it'll be a gateway to even bigger things. :)

I see the end as a chance to turn down another round, discover a new world. See the end as a chance to explore a new corner of the wilderness, breathe in the smell of new flowers, and meet new creatures or people. The world is there for you to create. Good luck.

Ending a series definitely does not mean the end of your writing! It means that you have to come up with a new idea and that means you have to go through that amazing process of creating a story and fleshing out characters and building tension. You have to rewrite and revise and . . .well that's it. I always dread ending a project. So much work behind. So much work ahead.

I know this fear personally. You're right, facing it weakens its power. We will defeat it, I say, and then I wonder if maybe this fear is a catalyst for all the creativity bottled up inside. Don't know. But here's to us! Happy IWSG, Angela.

That's the great part of spin-offs! One story might end, but you always have another character with their own life that can continue on in your brain, even if they never make it to paper. Just a thought. That way, it's the end, but not really THE END. :)

Yes, its hard to let go of a story and characters that you are in love with. Perhaps that is why I left my final book in the women's fiction series open ended. Kind of a cheat; but won't really matter unless the first two are ever published.